ProPublica: Hate crimes data
| Submitted | Aug. 4, 2017 |
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Communications
From: Ken Schwencke
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the the Louisiana Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
Any database or other records of hate crimes or crimes evidencing bias of race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin or disability reported to or investigated by your agency since Jan. 1, 2010, containing at least the following fields:
the incident number
date of the incident
whether the crime was against individuals or a business / property
number of victims
race or ethnicity of the victims
gender of the victims
the offense classification
the location of the incident
the bias motivation (anti-black, anti-muslim, etc)
I would like the records in a machine-readable, electronic format if possible. If the records are kept in another format, or kept individually, I would still like copies.
This request is made as part of the Documenting Hate Project, a collaboration involving dozens of news organizations, led by ProPublica. Coverage from the project is compiled at https://projects.propublica.org/graphics/hatecrimes#hatecrime-coverage.
This request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Ken Schwencke
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 4, 2017. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Jimenez, Mike
Dear Mr. Schwencke:
I have received the below-referenced Public Records Request you sent to this Office and offer you the following.
I have reviewed our files and have determined that, as authorized by Louisiana Revised Statute 44:32(C)(1)(a), it will cost $10.46 for you to obtain a hard-copied document relating to your Request. Please know that our Record Management System will not allow all of your "requested fields" to be gathered, but the document will show various Incident Numbers (if you want more details about each Incident, you can purchase the corresponding Report at a later date). At your earliest convenience, please mail this payment (check should be made payable to the "Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office") to my attention at the address below and I will then mail the document to you; please send a copy of the correspondence as well for accurate reference. With kind regards, I remain,
Sincerely,
Mike Jimenez, Jr.
Staff Attorney
Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office
200 Canal Boulevard
Thibodaux, LA 70301
Direct: 985-449-4446
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From: Ken Schwencke
Hi Mike,
Thanks so much. I appreciate your quick response. Do you know if the document includes more than incidents numbers? For example, incident dates and perhaps bias motivation?
Thanks,
Ken Schwencke
ProPublica
w: 917-512-0253
c: 561-756-6135
From: Jimenez, Mike
Mr. Schwencke,
The document includes the Incident Number, the Incident Date, the statute (in Louisiana we have both a felony and a misdemeanor "Hate Crime"), the Location, as well as the Race/Sex of either the Offender or the Victim. We do not have a listing for "bias motivation" nor for whether the victim was a person or a business; those specifics would have to be determined on a case-by-case basis by reading each individual Report (again, each individual Report would have to be purchased separately; these documents are not included in the $10.46 price).
Mike Jimenez, Jr.
Staff Attorney
Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office
200 Canal Boulevard
Thibodaux, LA 70301
Direct: 985-449-4446
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~WRD000
From: Ken Schwencke
Great. A check should be on the way ASAP.
Thanks,
Ken Schwencke
ProPublica
w: 917-512-0253
c: 561-756-6135
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
Please find enclosed a check for $10.46 to satisfy the fee associated with the attached public records request.
Thank you.
From: Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
From: Ken Schwencke
Hi Mike,
Thanks so much for sending me the hate crimes data. Is there any way you could email me with an attachment of the original Excel file, rather than a printout?
Thanks!
Ken Schwencke
ProPublica
w: 917-512-0253
c: 561-756-6135
From: Jimenez, Mike
Attached is the original file.
Mike Jimenez, Jr.
Staff Attorney
Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office
200 Canal Boulevard
Thibodaux, LA 70301
Direct: 985-449-4446
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PRR; Aug. 2017
From: Ken Schwencke
Thanks, Mike. I really appreciate it. Can I ask: what does the highlight on some of the rows indicate? Are they just alternating colors for different crimes (i.e. one incident is white and the next incident is yellow)?
From: Jimenez, Mike
No, the alternating colors are different Case Numbers/incidents; the different colors have nothing to do with different crimes.
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